This document discusses the challenges low-income families face in addressing obesity. It notes that while unhealthy foods are cheaper, healthy options like fruits and vegetables are too expensive for many low-income families. It also states that gym memberships are prohibitively expensive, costing over $50 per week. The document shares the experience of a single mother living on less than $1,000 per month who struggles to afford healthy food and activities to help her overweight child lose weight given financial constraints. It argues that low-income families need more assistance and resources to effectively address obesity issues.

1. Help with Obesity in Low-income Families
English Comp II
ENGL107-1102A-14
Prof. Iris Chao
Victoria Rock
April 30, 2011

2. There are many factors that contribute to obesity in America today. Pop-culture, genetics,
health issues and medications as well as self-esteem, cost of healthy foods today and the lack of
affordable gym facilities especially for low-income families who seem to be the main focus
point on this problem. Low-income families need more help with this fight on obesity.
When most people see an over-weight person, especially a child, they tend to blame it on
the parents. Although in some cases this may be true, it is not always the case. Many families
have very busy lives and no time for sit-down healthy meals with our children. We tend to stop
by fast food places to grab meals for our families. TV’s, video games and computers entertain
our children after dinner instead of going out in the evening for a walk, playing hide-and-seek,
or just running around playing such games as tag like we use to do when I was growing up as a
child.
Low-income families have a different fight. Although children in low-income families tend to
play outside running around more, the cost of healthy foods are out of our reach. I am a single
parent of an over-weight child and fall in the low-income bracket of society. Living on less than
a thousand dollars a month, the cost of healthy fruits and vegetables makes it hard to provide
healthy foods for my child. For example, out of 200 dollars a month for food, 85 dollars is spent
on fruits and vegetables, 85 dollars on meats such as chicken, which we eat a lot of, pork, fish
and tuna, forget beef, can’t afford it, and the rest is spent on eggs, milk, rice and noodles, which
can be bought in bulk helping to allow the food to last the month as well as fill us up. Forget
fast foods, my daughter considers herself lucky to get one medium pizza from Pizza Hut every
other month, we can’t afford it, so fast food is not our problem.

3. The cost of gyms is outrageous especially for low-income families. Even the YMCA, which I
thought was supposed to be free, cost five dollars every time you use their facilities. With the
amount of weight my child needs to lose, we would have to go the YMCA five times a week,
costing me fifty dollars a week or 200 a month. Even though 200 dollars a month doesn’t sound
like a lot to most people, for someone in the low-income bracket that money usually is used for
rent, utilities, or in my case extra food because what I buy usually doesn’t last the month,
especially the fruits and vegetables.
I agree that something has to be done to bring people, especially children, to a more healthy
weight. Low-income families need help more for this problem because of the cost of what is
needed to do this. I know because I fight this problem every day for my child.